Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone - On and Off

7

Two of the most exciting young musicians to emerge from the swirling vortex of 21st century Brooklyn avant-improv, Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone take their unlimited vision of creative music in surprising directions. Shocking string dissonance gives way to soothing vocal harmonies. Unhinged bursts of improvisation morph into rigorous structure. Unidentifiable electronic noises flow out of warm acoustic tones. Thanks to their work with Anthony Braxton and many others, their avant-garde credentials are ironclad, but Mary and Jessica extend the creative music tradition into directions that on the surface might sound more like indie-rock or avant-folk music. Their music reflects a new generation's disdain for the traditional categories that have divided musicians. All musical structures are at play here: songs, improvisations, advanced compositions. Mary and Jessica make it all work, along with a healthy dose of youthful insouciance and charm. After five years of relentless work- writing, recording, and touring in Europe and the US - "On and Off" shows these two young artists at the peak of their powers as individuals and as a band. Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone are ready to show the world that they are leaders of the next generation of musical explorers.

"(Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone) listen as though they're hotwired into each other's brain their taut structural discipline prompting a domino effect of great ideas." - Philip Clark, The Wire

"Their experimental instincts, sharpened by an affiliation with Anthony Braxton, commingle with a folksy lyricism; sometimes they even sing, without a trace of protective irony." - Nate Chinen, The New York Times

Crawling, The Clouds, Hartford, Speaking with Silence, The Wand, Rods and Cones, On and Off, Round, Untitled, Gone Dancing, Revo-Lover, I Am Fine